You Said Yes as I Said Please
by anthfan
Summary: One-shot. "Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy."
1. Chapter 1

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**A/N: Angsty plot bunny attacked me, what can I say? Though I do need to make it known that I truly do not believe Mama Smoak will be as horribly devious as I've portrayed her in this story. **

**Enjoy! **

Because right there, forehead pressed against her temple, nose buried in her hair as he begged for her to live, that was the only part that still smelled like her. There was a faint trace of her shampoo, almost gone, almost erased by the hospital and death, but there was still something left and he'd be damned if he'd give up now.

Please.

Please.

Please.

Don't do this.

Don't leave me.

Fight, dammit.

Fight.

Please.

Don't.

It took Roy and Digg both to drag him out, their own eyes blurred with tears as Meredith Smoak stood by her daughter's bedside and batted wet lashes at a nurse who was looking with more sympathy at the trio of men who hadn't left the hospital in a week than the woman who waltzed in that morning claiming next of kin.

Oliver had roared when she'd told the doctors to turn off the machines. Begged and pleaded and offered his fortune but she'd stared at him with an imperious expression. It was the look of a woman who had learned how to thrive in a desert, in a place where night never ended, and sharks found a home on dry land. She'd handled richer men than him, more desperate men than him for years and had become numb to their words.

Felicity's life insurance policy was a sure thing. The pleas of a drowning man were not.

Meri Smoak always bet on a sure thing.

The door was shut firmly behind them and he tried to shrug out of the hold but quickly found it was the only thing keeping him up. He staggered as far as the opposite wall and slid to the bottom in a heap not understanding how it had all gone wrong.

A low, hollow moan left his chest along with what remained of his soul when the harsh beep of the flat line pierced the air.

The former soldier stood still as a rock, hands clenched so tight the skin around his knuckles looked like it might burst. It was the only outward sign he was breaking.

The kid from the Glades punched a hole in the wall and kicked a chair down the hall before he too found his legs wouldn't hold him any longer.

Oliver swore he'd hear the sound of her heart ceasing to beat for the rest of his life. It would be his constant companion, his albatross, his eternal penance for not doing the one thing he always said he would do.

It rang in his head as he stared blankly at the wall across from him as if he could somehow see through it and still see her. He didn't want to remember her like that though. Not with machines breathing for her, and too many tubes running into her veins. He shut his eyes tight and saw her in her chair, blonde ponytail swaying as she spun to face him, face bright with new information, lips moving a mile a minute.

He could still hear the alarm.

So he stayed, not sure he'd ever leave.

And the three stood sentry even though their watch had ended.

When he was suddenly grabbed under his arms and hauled to his feet he tried to fight but he couldn't. Giant paws for hands bracketed his face and he blinked his eyes repeatedly because there was no reason he should be seeing a smile.

The door was open again. Nurses moving through. He recognized the machine that had been used to breathe for her being rolled out and he almost went down again if it hadn't been for another set of hands at his back.

Three steps in he still couldn't bring himself to look at her. He didn't know why he was in there. He didn't know why they were doing this to him but he was too broken to stop it.

Her mother was silent for once. Tucked into a corner like she could somehow become invisible even though her multicolored swing coat could be seen from half a mile away.

It took him far too long to realize the long beep of death had been replaced with the slow, repetitive blips of a beating heart.

When he did his eyes flew up, daring to hope.

The tube was gone, a simple nasal cannula in its place.

Dead people didn't need nasal cannulas some distant part of his brain supplied and he stumbled forward two more steps.

Her eyes were slits and shining through them was blue. The bluest blue he'd ever seen and he thought she was gorgeous.

Two fingers lifted, only a inch but it was enough and it was like she'd summoned him to her side.

He found that spot behind her ear again, the place where he could still smell her shampoo and he told her thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I wasn't sure this one was going to be continued but I left it open just in case. The muse lifted her head and decided there needed to be a second chapter. Thank you so much for the wonderful response to the first part. I hope you like this one just as much. **

**Enjoy, and please let me know what you think. **

The lingering scent of Chanel No. 5 was the first thing Felicity consciously noticed. Opening her eyes seemed too difficult, the lights already burning bright behind closed lids, and the steady beep to her left was loud but easy to ignore. Her body felt weightless and numbed, only existing because she knew it did, but not because she felt any connection to it.

However, the familiarity of that smell made it's way through to sluggish neurons and fired. She slipped back to sleep dreaming of her mother, and trips to the perfume counter. From the age of fourteen Meri Smoak had worn Chanel No. 5, and nothing would keep her from having it, not even when it meant putting a dent in the grocery budget.

When she woke up again she didn't smell anything. Her chest felt heavy, as if a stack of bricks lay atop her, pressing her slow and steady down, down, down, until she thought she might fall right through the floor. There was pain. Somehow she knew that and she didn't dare move. Then her left arm went cold and the pressure on her chest lessened. She fell back asleep thinking she felt fingers wrapped around hers.

The lights that had been so bright before had been dimmed. Her eyes opened at once, wide and unblinking as the dredges of a nightmare faded away. The first thing she noticed was the unmistakable sight of a hospital room. Trying to remember why she was there was too difficult just then and she listened to the small voice that told her to wait, the why wasn't important. A spot of red caught her attention and she shifted her gaze to the right to take in the end of the room. Roy. Sprawled in a chair with his head propped on his hand, mouth hanging open.

Another form, closer to the end of her bed stood out in the low light and she could see Digg, long legs stretched in front of him, hands clasped over his middle. His eyes were shut but somehow she knew if he heard even the quietest noise he'd be on his feet in an instant.

That left one. With effort she knew it shouldn't have taken she slowly shifted her eyes across her blanket clad legs and over to her left.

Oliver.

The chair was pulled flush against the bed, and parallel, facing her and the monitors. The rail was down allowing him to rest his arm along the mattress, his hand firmly wrapped around hers. He stared unblinking at the screens.

His normally short beard looked like it hadn't been touched in weeks, his clothes wrinkled. But it was his face and his eyes that made hot tears cloud her vision.

She'd seen Oliver at some of the most horrible moments of his life, but she'd never seen him like that.

As her lids got too heavy she wondered what had made him look like that. A tear made it's way slowly down her cheek but it disappeared before it could drip off her chin. The disturbing knowledge that Oliver had willingly put his back to the door followed her into the darkness.

'_Please' 'Please' 'Please' _

The word was echoing in her head and the voice was familiar but it took longer than it should have for her to make all the connections. She should remember. It was important. The word had meant something.

She still felt so tired, and the pressure in her chest was back. The lights were still low, but opening her eyes seemed like an effort she couldn't attempt just then.

However, the word returned and it was both a memory and a lifeline that seemed determined to drag her forward.

She heard it again, whispered against her skin, so quiet she knew it was for her alone. He sounded so sad it made her ache. The word came again, over and over, a plea that was joined by hot tears that she felt slide into her hair.

They weren't her tears.

The word called her into action, and even though she had to think hard about what she wanted to do and even though it caused a flash of pain to race across her chest when she heard him again she turned her head into his. It was only centimeters but it was enough.

His body went stiff, then she heard her name being called so desperate and hopeful she wished she could open her eyes and reassure him.

There were warm hands on her face, and maybe lips on her forehead as she drifted off. She wouldn't know until later that she'd smiled.

When she woke up next it wasn't slow and it wasn't peaceful. His name was ripped from her throat causing her to choke and gasp as pain washed over her. Broken ribs protested the sudden movement and she tipped from the horror of her memories to the brutal reality of her injuries.

He was there though, whole, and not dead which is all she'd ever asked for. Slowly she was able to focus on his voice as he pressed her back into the pillows and begged her not to move. One small nod was all she could manage, lips pressed in a thin line as she struggled to get above the pain.

He was hunched over her, hands bracketing her face as her breaths calmed. He spoke encouraging words and then reached with one hand to push something she couldn't see. But a second later a cool rush filled her vein and the pain began to abate.

She didn't want to go back to sleep though. Something was telling her she'd been asleep too long, and that too much had happened. Over his shoulder she could just make out Digg and he looked like the world had been ripped out from underneath him. Oliver looked worse.

He must have noticed her panic. Hair was smoothed from her face as he assured her they weren't going anywhere and he'd be there when she woke up. His voice had broken on the last part.

Turning into his hand didn't cause the pain it had last time but the smile he graced her with would have been worth it.

She fought the drugs, staring at him, wishing she had enough energy to lift her hand and touch him. He looked like he need her to.

Before she could disappear again she gathered what strength she had, tongue snaking out to try and wet her dry lips. "You said please," she managed to rasp out in a voice that didn't sound like her own.

But it must have been enough because his eyes filled, and a choked, half-sob burst from his throat. His forehead brushed against hers and she felt his breath fan over her cheeks.

"Yes," he whispered, "And you heard me,"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Muse still wasn't finished. She decided there needed to be two more parts. Thank you so much for reading. Enjoy, and let me know what you think, I love hearing from readers. **

Oliver was familiar with death in all its forms, John knew that. He was familiar with it as well himself. Some deaths made you angry, some grateful, some vengeful, some so hurt you wanted to curl in a ball like a child and pretend it hadn't happened. Sometimes though, death could even break the living. Smash them down into pieces so small it would be impossible to put back together, and that was a different sort of death as well.

John Diggle thought he knew death. But when they'd been faced with the loss of _her_ he knew something else entirely.

In the span of a few minutes he'd not only lost his sister in all the ways that mattered, but another brother as well.

The city lost it's champion. Roy, his best friend.

But the city also lost its hero, and, Roy, his mentor, because where she went he followed.

The two of them were symbiotic. A balance so perfect one could look right past it and not even notice. Light and dark, small and large, loud and sullen. It was in the way they merged, the way they came together where it all made sense. That was where it didn't matter how much they disagreed, how much they'd hurt each other, how much wasn't being said, it was the place where what was silently understood transcended everything else.

And when half of that partnership was ripped away the other half fell, swift and hard with nothing to catch it. No choice but to fall. Because there was no choice to make.

John had to watch as a stranger with familiar eyes cut their legs out from under them, tore out their heart and burnt the ruins to the ground. Because without her they were done.

He watched his world crumble, unable to stop it. Nothing in his past could have prepared him for this. He'd never felt more weak or helpless.

And then the shame came because he should have known better, he should have trusted. She never had given up and it seemed like she never would. She did what she always did, she was exceptional. The long alarm of death had been replaced by the repeating rhythm of life, the beat almost mocking the woman who had tried to take it all from them.

After Oliver had been brought back, hauled upright and dragged forward to resume his place at her side John had turned his heavy gaze to the corner where Meri Smoak though she could hide. John watched. It was what he did best. She couldn't have known that John Diggle excelled at seeing into the shadows.

It was up to him to ensure that this never happened again. Oliver had more than enough to worry about, this was one thing he could take on and see through.

When his target, because that was what she was now, slipped from the room under the guise of going for coffee he exchanged a loaded look with Roy and followed her.

In the hallway she visibly gathered her courage and he saw the simper and heard the pleading tone before she could make them, one large hand coming up to cut her off. The unspoken authority that had kept his men alive in the field was effective even against her. She'd thought she'd be able to slip her way out of there just as easily as she'd slipped in, and he would let her go, but not before he saw his mission complete.

However, she'd never met her daughter's protector before. He couldn't be handled, he couldn't be bullied. His sole focus was Felicity's continued safety and it would not be broken.

In careful slow words he told her how it was going to be. There was no room for discussion or negotiation.

She was shrewd and resilient, he knew she'd had to be to survive where she did. So she took the deal because she knew it was in her best interest. No further words were spoken between them. There was a quick trip down three floors where he stood watch as she signed over all legal rights and saw that it was notarized. When they went back up Roy had posted himself as guard outside Felicity's door, glowering. She didn't try to go back in.

Almost twenty-four hours passed before Oliver turned his attention away from Felicity. One questioning look was all it had taken, and all John had to do was nod. 'Taken care of, boss.' he telegraphed silently. He received a nod in return and Oliver went back to holding the small hand with the chipped blue paint on the nails because that's all he needed to do just then.

His eyes scanned the room, much like it had scanned the desert during patrol.

One. Two. Three. Four.

All present and accounted for.

Their world was slowly knitting itself back together.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so much for supporting this story. It's bee amazing to explore this story through the different povs. Please, enjoy Roy's chapter, and I'd love to know what you think. **

Family. It was a bit of a foreign concept to a kid from the Glades that had been on his own for far too long. Until he'd stolen a purse that cost more than the house he grew up in and his world had never been the same again.

Roy had tumbled head first down the rabbit hole that was Thea Queen and landed someplace soft.

As the months and then years had passed he'd been drawn further in until he didn't quite know what life was like before he put on red leather every night.

And he was okay with that. Because now he had found the missing piece, the part that had escaped him. The father figure who wasn't afraid to cuff him on the head and tell him to get it together, the mentor who showed him what trust and respect truly meant, and the big sister he never know he needed until he had her, so entwined into his life he couldn't skip a meal without her knowing and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Which was why he didn't care that he'd spent the better part of two weeks prowling the halls of Starling City General. He'd played every role needed from errand boy to guard dog and he did it happily.

Roy had known grief and he'd known pain and he knew better than most that life wasn't fair. But he'd also discovered that there were also people like her, people who made the world better just because they were in it. He couldn't think about that day when he thought they'd lost her. He'd never considered what could destroy a man like Oliver Queen, but now that he'd had a front row seat and watched it happen it made his stomach roll to remember. So he didn't.

He'd been halfway down the hall on a coffee run when he heard her scream Oliver's name. It was so reminiscent of the night she'd been hurt he'd gone stiff, frozen in place. Then he raced for her room, coffee long forgotten as blood pounded in his ears not knowing what was going to greet him when he got there. The whisper of her voice was more than he could have asked for.

She was still in and out of it for days. But each time she woke up or squeezed Oliver's hand Roy saw that he let himself relax a little more. The tight set of his shoulders would lessen although he still sat in the same spot as if he could will her to wake.

It was only by chance that Digg finally got Oliver to leave the room and agree to eat in the cafeteria, and it was a not so gentle reminder that Felicity would be upset at him if he didn't that got him to move.

Before he left he turned and leveled Roy with a look so intense he felt it in his bones. Oliver was trusting him with her, failure was not an option.

Roy nodded gravely, the responsibility he felt welling in his chest. She was part of him now, closer than blood and he'd spill his own before he let any of them down.

His feet moved him to her side but he didn't dare sit in the chair, it didn't belong to him. Alone, with just the comforting sounds of her monitors he felt the need to fill the silence. The ring of her flatlining still woke him up and he was glad to have her heartbeat become his own inner metronome.

Staring down at her he began to speak, the words flowing, surprising him, but it had always been easy to talk to her. She had the ability to keep up a steady stream of chatter even while working furiously at her station.

"You must be upset, you haven't called me Barbie once,"

It took longer than it should have for it to register that she'd spoken. Then a beat more for him to realize she sounded almost normal.

His eyes nearly bugged out of his head, her wide blue eyes looking back, clear and bright.

"Water?" her voice was raspy and he saw her wince when she swallowed.

His movements were clumsy and he almost knocked over the cup next to her bed in his haste to grab it. Holding the straw steady he watched in shock as she took a few sips and gave him a smile of thanks.

The relief that washed over him made him light headed and he took a moment to just hang on to her bed rail and drop his head to breathe. Even though he'd been there when she'd fought to stay alive and he'd heard the doctors say she was improving he finally let himself believe it.

"Oliver get sick of me already?"

"Oh crap!"

Moving faster than he thought possible he had his phone in his hand and was calling Oliver. The growl that greeted him was enough to make him pale and he knew without a doubt he and Digg had abandoned their food and had headed for the nearest stairwell at the first ring.

When they burst into the room only minutes later it was like nothing else existed. Roy moved backwards, out of the way, because the magnetizing force that connected those two was impenetrable and mercy wasn't given to those who tried to get in its path.

Later, after there had been tests and doctors began to use words like 'rehab' and 'date of discharge' he wandered off to find food, not feeling like he had to get back as soon as possible. She was going to be okay.

They were going to be okay.

If only the residents of Starling knew that their continued protection was due to one small blonde woman.

When he made his way back, extra cup of coffee for whoever wanted it clenched in his left hand he was surprised to see Digg sitting outside the door. It seemed late to be doing more tests and for a second he got scared that something had gone wrong.

But Digg looked at ease. He took the coffee and gave him a knowing half grin before nodding his head towards the closed door.

Not knowing what to expect Roy opened it a few inches. The lights were low, only the one near her bed was lit and it had been dimmed to a soft glow.

Oliver was in the bed with her, shoes in a pile on the floor, legs stretched out to lay alongside hers. He was on his side, head propped up on his hand as he looked down at her with such love Roy felt like an intruder. Their hands were intertwined, always moving. Small touches they didn't even seem to be aware of acting as a near constant reminder that they were still there.

A low murmur of voices floated towards him, and he began to shut the door, now understanding why Digg wasn't inside for the first time in two weeks.

The last thing he saw was both of them smiling.


End file.
